The effect of environmentally sustainable practices on firm R&D: International evidence

Abstract Using a comprehensive dataset covering 42 countries spanning 2002–2013, this paper empirically examines the effect of environmentally sustainable practices (ESP) on R&D intensity in firms. We use three separate firm-level ESP scores that distinguish between the mandatory and voluntary compliance of environmental regulations mandated within an industry and a country. Our main finding is that an increase in ESP increases R&D intensity. Therefore, ESP encourages a higher number of innovations and there is a negligible trade-off between these two factors of firm performance. Further, the positive effect of ESP is stronger in countries where institutional quality and R&D infrastructure supports are superior. Our results have important policy implications for firms, investors and national governments.